bucksniper14

i am thinking bout planting a food plot. I am goin to pretty much just use it for gun deer season mayby a little for bow also. I live in Wisconsin and want to plant it on crp land. I cant use fertilizer so does sometning like delta ag grow coat work good without fertilizer. What do you think would be something good to plant I live by a bunch of farmland so I need something that will lure the deer away from the corn and hay fields. I was thinking maybe turnips. Does anyone have any suggestions

haystack

bucksniper, Turnips can get by with low fertility and will probably work good in your area. I'm not sure about the seed coating. My suggestion is to check back in a couple days, there is some guys from your region on here that can give you some valuable advice and will be glad to answer any questions you may have.

bowmanaj

Turnips are a good idea.. But I'm not real sure about what to plant without using fetilizer even though they will still grow in lower fertility soils. . I have used Delt-Ag in the past and I do think it helped new roots take hold as far as strength goes. It kinda gave them a "headstart" which will help in the long run. You could try rape, sugar beet, or brassicas, but you may have some issues with competetion for nutrients from other weeds/grasses if you dont use a herbicide either. And often times brassicas need a little more fertile soil depending on what you get.

These are just some thoughts, Im sure others will have better ideas/info

Soilman

bucksniper14, where are you located in WI? I am a WI native as well, now a cheesehead in the twin cities. Turnips will work well if you are into late season bow hunting (or if you have snow during the gun season). Deer will paw through snow to get the green tops all winter long. It will be tough to compete with corn and alfalfa fields. Soybeans (roundup ready for easy weed control) would be my choice in that situation, then turnips on part of the plot (where ever the deer chewed off most of the beans) for a late fall/winter food source.

Why can't you use fertilizer? I have 3 food plots and a garden on CRP ground. All of them get fertilizer, and the WI-NRCS (USDA) recommends fertilizer on contracted food plot land (see link).

The grow coat will not be a cure all. If there was a cheap coating that would guarantee a successful crop, every farmer would use it; and not put in the time preparing a good seed bed, planting to depth, fertilizing, liming, and controlling weeds. Another suggestionis to get a soil test, especially if you have sandy soil and/or are considering clover or alfalfa.

ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/WI/jobsheets/js-136.pdf

bucksniper14

I am in western wisconsin